Chapter 28

The blond cop eased himself gently into his car and put the keys in the ignition. Putting the selector into drive he eased the battered brown LTD into motion and drove quietly away from his apartment into the night. His mind was made up and he was clear in his intentions. He needed to find answers and even if, at this stage, those answers didn't help to locate his partner, then at least they would start the ball rolling in the prosecution of Edgar Fisher.

Hutch looked at his watch. Ten after midnight. He'd been asleep for maybe four hours and felt rested and eager to do some good honest policing. Although his healing body rebelled against the movements involved in driving the car, it felt good to be going somewhere under his own power again instead of relying on Traff or someone else to ferry him around. The doctor had said that he shouldn't be driving for at least another month, but he'd had his share of doctors - they were overly careful at the best of times, terrified of being sued. Hutch had begun to understand just how frustrated Starsky had felt when he'd been gunned down by Gunther's bullets and had been beholden to everyone for even the simplest task.

He'd had a taste of that now and hated the feeling of powerlessness.

Twenty minutes later, he pulled the car to a halt outside Edgar Fisher's apartment block. Switching off the engine, he paused for a moment, massaging his shoulder and trying to rid himself of the bone crushing ache that had set into the limb from the movements associated with driving. He snickered to himself. OK Mr "I know best Hutchinson". Get you ass into gear and go do your thing. Following his own good advice, Hutch got himself out of the car and walked slowly into the apartment block. At this time of the early morning, there was no one on reception and he took the elevator up to the second floor and padded along the corridor to Edgar Fisher's flat. 220c proclaimed that he'd gotten himself to the right location and he ducked under the yellow and white "Police - do not cross" tape and opened the door to the small place.

Inside sent shivers down his spine for the second time that day. The place seemed to echo it's occupant's demeanour. It was grey. Grey carpet, dirty grey net curtains that had once been white and a sofa and chair that could have been any colour beneath the grime. The living room held the suite, a small television, a hi fi unit much like Hutch's own, a telephone and a dinner table with two chairs. Looking around, Hutch saw nothing that jumped out at him and screamed "Mad hypnotist lives here" and so he braced himself and walked into Edgar's bedroom. As that afternoon, the first thing that struck the flaxen haired cop was the wall covered entirely in glossy, full colour pictures of boys and young men, all naked tanned and oiled and all in provocative poses. The pictures had obviously been trimmed from some Porno magazine and Hutch shivered involuntarily as he saw his partner's pictures nestled amongst the others. Moving closer, the blond saw that they'd been taken through the various windows of Starsky's apartment and showed the curly haired cop cleaning his camera, cooking at his stove and one, disconcertingly taken through his bathroom window that showed him naked, at least from the waist up. Knowing better than to move the evidence, Hutch swallowed down his anger and continued to poke around the room.

There was a small single bed with dirty covers on it and when Hutch flicked back the sheets he saw stains on the bottom sheet showing evidence that Fisher used the pictures not just for eye candy. The blond grimaced in disgust and put the sheets back over the stains, hiding them from view.

Looking around him, Hutch sighed. There seemed nothing there of any interest to him - nothing to provide him with a clue as to where Starsky was and he was about to move back into the living room when his gaze was caught by a small case containing audio tapes. Several of them were pre-recorded tapes of Mozart, Elgar, Bizet and oddly, Bread. There were, however, several other tapes all labelled in neat, round handwriting and Hutch's blood ran cold as he saw four labelled D1, D2, D3 and D4. Could they be what he thought they were? Only one way to find out. Taking them from the small shelf, the blond stared at them as though they might bite him and then headed back into the living room and over to the hi fi unit.

Taking D1 from the cassette case, the flaxen haired man deftly inserted it into the machine and pressed "play", sitting back down on the edge of the chair as he listened to the first tape. There were two distinct voices. One was most definitely Edgar Fisher. He'd recognise that slimy, cold voice anywhere. The second was also familiar and set up a longing in Hutch's heart, although as the tape played on, Starsky's voice took on a zoned out spacey quality to it. Hutch closed his eyes, imagining the two men standing in front of his as the tape played out it's incriminating evidence. He listened for a while as Starsky and Edgar went through greetings and pleasantries. It was obvious that they'd had previous conversations because the brunet seemed unfazed at Edgar ringing him. They seemed to be carrying on a conversation they'd commenced previously.

Starsky - 'H'llo'

Edgar - 'Hello David. Remember me?'

Starsky - 'Yeah.'

Edgar - 'Tell me how the investigation is proceeding. Has Hutch found anything yet?'

Starsky - 'No, but I... he... I can't keep secrets from him.'

Edgar - 'Why not David? Don't you trust me? You should trust me. I'll look after you David. I need you to listen to me. Listen carefully David.'

Starsky - 'I... I don't want to. No... aint right. I...'

Edgar - 'David listen to me voice. The investigation isn't right. The investigation is wrong. I'm innocent. Hutch is wrong. You need to tell him he's wrong. Edgar Fisher has done nothing. Do you understand me? Edgar Fisher hasn't done anything at all and you'll be angry at anyone who says otherwise.'

Starsky - 'But Hutch says...'

Edgar - 'Hutch is wrong. Listen only to me David. Only to me. Hutch is wrong. Repeat it.'

Starsky - 'Hutch is wrong... Edgar Fisher is innocent.'

Edgar - 'That's good David. Well done. Remember your lessons well. Edgar Fisher is innocent and Hutch is wrong. You've done well tonight David. Now rest and in the morning you won't remember who telephoned you.'

The tape ended and Hutch sat with fists balled as he listened to the incriminating evidence. His partner had tried so hard to resist the programming. Starsky's voice had sounded strained and almost in pain as he tried to deny the programming, but Edgar's voice had remained cold and impassive and slowly but surely, the brunet cop had been sucked into the hypnotic state and had succumbed to Edgar's suggestions. Dammit! With shaking hands, Hutch extracted the first tape and inserted tape two. It held much the same sort of conversation, reinforcing the hypnotic suggestion that Edgar was innocent and that everyone who said otherwise was fundamentally flawed and wrong. Although Starsky still fought the programming, he was less sure of himself on the second tape and by the end of it, his voice was a flat monotone as he answered Edgar monsyllabically.

The third tape, when Hutch listened to it, however started to take a far more sinister turn and Hutch found that he could hardly bear to listen to his partner's pained answers to Fisher's evil questions. Several times during the tape the brunet sounded as though he were fighting the urge to break down, and when that happened, Hutch's blood pressure rose another few millibars and his finger nails dug into the palms of his hands until they dug crescent shaped scars into the flesh there. The tape started differently to the other two. This time, Edgar's voice held a note of anger in it and there were no preliminary niceties.

Starsky - 'H'llo, Who is this?'

Edgar - 'Me Edgar. What have you done David? What have you allowed to happen?'

Starsky - 'Don't know. What?'

Edgar - 'Hutch and some of the other cops have been digging too deep David. It's time to take our relationship to the next level. Do you trust me?'

Starsky - 'Yeah, I...I...um I...'

Edgar - 'Not good enough David. You're fighting me all the way here and I'm angry. I want you to listen to me. Hutch is getting close. He's getting in the way.'

Starsky - 'He's my partner - I can't lie to him... can't... he...'

Edgar - 'David listen to my voice. Listen carefully. I'm going to count backwards from three and then you're going to think back to the worst day of your life. What is that David. Tell me truthfully. Tell me now.'

Starsky - 'My Dad ... died... was killed.'

Edgar - When I reach one, you'll be back there, on the day he was killed. You'll relive the moment you found out and you'll tell me about it. Three, you're deeply asleep. Two, you're completely under my control. One, you have no free will. You'll carry out my instructions. And tell me.'

Starsky – sigh 'There's a knock at the door. Mom gets up and she puts her cup down. She looks scared. It's late. Dad went to work a while ago. I hear her open the door and she screams. They all come into the room together. It's Dad's friends from the station. One of them is holding Mom and she's crying. I know it's bad news and I think Dad's in the hospital maybe. Mom is almost hysterical and Nicky is crying. He runs to her and she cuddles him, but I can't move. I know it's bad and I know I have to stay strong for Mom. They tell me Dad was killed in a drive by shooting in Queens. That's his normal patch. They caught the gang, but Dad's dead. He's dead... he aint ever coming back.'

Edgar - 'Re-live how you feel David. Tell me every emotion that's going through your head.'

Starsky – sniff 'I'm scared. I'm scared for Mom and Nicky an' I'm scared for me. I can feel tears at the back of my eyes but I won't cry. I won't. Voice breaks Not yet. Later, when I'm on my own, but I have to be strong for Mom. I feel empty. I feel like life will never be worth living again. I feel like I'll never be happy again, like the future is just a big black barrier. I'm so scared.'

Edgar - 'Good David. Remember how that felt. I want you to remember those feelings because if you don't do as I tell you. If you don't follow Edgar's instructions, that's how you'll feel for the rest of your life. Never happy. Always scared. Remember that. Hutch is getting too close. I want you to make him back off. Force him to admit that Edgar Fisher had nothing to do with the murders. Can you do that for me? Can you do that David?'

Starsky - 'Edgar Fisher had nothing to do with the murders. Hutch is wrong. Don't let him investigate any more.'

Edgar - 'That's all now David. All for the moment. When I count backward to one, you'll wake and forget this phone call. You'll forget who called you. Three. Two. Goodnight David. One and wake.'

Hutch wiped angrily at a tear wending it's way down his cheek. The fear and loss and shear loneliness in his partner's voice as Edgar had made him relive that terrible time had been almost palpable and the blond wanted nothing more than to grind Fisher's face into the dirt and kill him.

With a sigh, and with trepidation, the blond inserted the fourth tape, noting that it was dated the day before Starsky finally shot him. The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fit into place. With each successive tape, Edgar Fisher was tightening his grip on the brunet and bending him to his will. No wonder his curly haired partner had been tired, washed out and jumpy. The programming he was unwillingly undergoing would have tested the resolve of a saint. Hesitantly, hutch pressed play and paced the small living room as he listened with growing horror to the fourth tape.

Starsky - 'H'llo'

Edgar - 'It's Edgar. Be quiet and listen to me David. Hutch is too close, he's in the way. He needs to be dealt with.'

Starsky - 'Dealt with? How?'

Edgar - 'You know David, I'm amazed you still question me, after all our conversations. It's disobedient you know. We should work on that some more. By the end of this session, you're going to have no free will left, be assured of that. I'm going to put you to the test to ensure you won't disappoint me tomorrow.'

Starsky - 'I won't disappoint you.'

Edgar - 'Not, this time David, you won't. I want you to listen carefully to my voice. Concentrate on my words. Only on my words and my voice. You'll do exactly as I say. Is that clear David? Exactly as I say. No more questions, no more hesitation. Hutch is no longer your best friend. I'm your best friend now. I'm your alpha and omega David. No one exists but me and you will do anything... anything at all to please me. Repeat that.'

Starsky 'I'll do anything you tell me. No one exists but you. Hutch is wrong. He's isn't my best friend.'

At that point Hutch let out an involuntary cry, the pain and emptiness in his partner's voice being almost too much for him to bear. It was evident that Starsky's mind was rebelling against the programming, but Edgar Fisher was a master hypnotist and had the curly haired cop completely under his control.

Edgar - 'This is your test David. I want you to do everything I say, without question. This is a big test David, and I'll be angry if you disobey me or question me. You wouldn't want me to be upset would you David?'

Starsky - 'No... don't want to disobey.'

Edgar - 'David I want you to hold the telephone to your ear and I want you to unzip your jeans and let them fall to the floor. I want you to sit down on the sofa David and I want you to start stroking yourself. Let me hear you doing that David. Let me hear you gasp as your touch makes you excited and hard. Take it gently David, this is to last. I want to enjoy every moment of this. You wouldn't want to cheat me.'

Starsky - 'I won't cheat on you.'

Edgar - 'I want you to make love to yourself David. I want to hear you stroking yourself until you're hard.'

Starsky - 'gasp'

Moments of silence pass punctuated by small sighs and moans.

Edgar - 'Are you excited David? Can you feel the tension building in your groin? You sound so husky. You're voice is so full of need. Not like the young boys. You've lasted much longer than they ever did. You're much more fun David – much more entertaining'

Starsky - 'Uh huh. I need to cum. I need to...'

Edgar - 'Not yet David. It's not allowed yet. I want you to hurt. I want this to go on so long that you feel like you're on fire. I want you to plead with me to let you release. Tell me how you feel David.'

Starsky - 'Hurts... so much... feels good...hard. Oh shit... please, please I gotta...'

Edgar - 'Not yet David. Slow down. It's too early yet. Let it last. Let me enjoy this.'

Starsky - 'I need to ... can't hold on. Please let me... I need...fuck, I gotta...'

Edgar - 'Very well David. You've done so well for me. You can release, when I've counted down from three, but not until. After that, you'll clean yourself up and sleep, and in the morning you'll tell Hutch that you want to meet someone at the fairground. When I say Merrygoround, you'll fire your gun at Hutch. Remember.'

Starsky - 'Remember...please. Oh god...please let me...'

Edgar - 'Three. You're excited David. So hard it hurts.'

Starsky - 'Ummmnnnnn.'

Edgar - 'Two, you're so close now. You'll remember nothing of this telephone call, or who called you.'

Starsky - 'Close...too close I need...fuck, pleeeeeeease.'

Edgar - 'One, and you may release.'

There were sounds of gasping and Hutch rushed to the hi fi and pressed the button angrily. It was as though he himself had defiled his partner, Starsky's need and pain evident in the tape. The blond ripped the tape from the player and pocketed all four of them. Three would make excellent evidence against the madman. The fourth he would make sure was never seen again and as he rushed from the house, he knew that he would ensure that at least Starsky's dignity would remain in tact and no-one would hear the telephone rape Edgar had imposed on him.